Mahatma Gandhi Indian Freedom Leader | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2^nd October 1869 in Porbandar city of Gujarat, India. He is also known by sobriquets Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu and Gandhiji. Mahatma Gandhi was the most influential political and spiritual leaders of India. Mahatma Gandhi is known as Father of the Nation and Gandhiji’s birthday is celebrated as a national holiday.

Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi:

Mahatma Gandhi’s parents were Karamchand Gandhi and Putilibai Gandhi. Gandhi’s father Kharamchand married thrice, each time his wife died. At the age of 40 Kharamchand married Putlibai. They couple was blessed with three sons and one daughter. Gandhi was the youngest Child. Gandhi married Kasturba Makhanji at the age of 13 and Gandhi had four sons Harilal, Manilal, Devadas and Ramdas. Gandhi went to University College of London to study as a barrister in 1988. Gandhi accepted a yearlong contract from an Indian firm to a post in Natal, South Africa. Gandhi faced racial distinction directed at blacks and Indians. Such incidents provoked him to work towards social activism.

Gandhi’s Principles:

Gandhi’s principles of life:

• Truth

• Vegetarianism

• Faith in God

• Simplicity

• Self Discipline

• Nonviolence

• Equality of all religions

Gandhi’s Participation in Indian Independence Movement:

Gopal Krishna Gokhale is a leader of the congress party. He introduced Gandhi to the Indian issues, the Indian People and Indian Politics. Gandhi participated in the following movements related to India’s freedom struggle.

1. Chamaran and Kheda Satyagraha:

On 1917 to 1918, the first Sathyagraha movements inspired by Mahatma Gandhi occurred in Champaran district of Bihar and the Kheda district of Gujarat. The word Satyagraha was used for the first time in Anti Rowlatt Act agitation. British levied a harsh tax. Mahatma Gandhi was successful in signing an agreement with the British, where in the poor farmers were granted more remuneration and control over farming.

2. Salt Satyagraha and Dandi March:

The salt Satyagraha started on 12 March 1930, with the undertaking of the Dandi yatra. The main reason for this movement is British government levied a salt tax. The Dandi march was undertaken by Gandhiji. The Dandi march started from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad. It was set out on foot. The walk lasted for 23 days and passed through 48 villages. Gandhi was arrested on the midnight 4 may 1930. The Satyagraha continued for almost a year against the salt tax, in which over 80,000 Indians were jailed.

3. Quit India Moment:

Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India moment for freedom from British rules on 8th August 1942. The Quit India moment is also known as the August Movement. The Quit India Movement was the most aggressive revolt of the Indian National Congress, with the aim of gaining complete exit of the British from India. On 9^th August 1942, Gandhi was arrested and held for two years in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. Quit India movement ended in 1943, when the British gave hints that complete power would be transferred to the people of India.

4. Freedom and Partition of India:

In 1946, the independence cum partition proposal offered by British cabinet mission was accepted by confress. After India’s independence Gandhi focused on unity of Muslims and Hindus. He launched his last fast unto death in Delhi, Gandhi asking for all to be stopped communal violence and the payment of Rs. 55 crores as per the council agreement, to be made to Pakistan. All politicians accepted it and Gandhi broke his fast by drinking orange juice.

Assassination:

On 30th January 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated at Birla House, New Delhi. His assassin was Nathuram Vinayaka Godse, a right wing advocate of Hindu nationalism, a member of the political party the Hindu Mahasabha, and a former member of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh.

Mahatma Gandhi Best Inspirational Quotes:

• “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

• “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

• “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

• “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

• “When I despair, I remember that all through history truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”

• “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

• “Where there is love there is life.”

• “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

• “Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”

• “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”

• “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

• “God has no religion.”

• “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

• “Your beliefs become your thoughts,

            Your thoughts become your words,

            Your words become your actions,

            Your actions become your habits,

            Your habits become your values,

            Your values become your destiny.”

• “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

• “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

• “Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:

           - I shall not fear anyone on Earth.

           - I shall fear only God.

           - I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.

           - I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.

           - I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”

• “The future depends on what you do today.”

• “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

• “To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”

• “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

• “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

• “Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”

• “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

• “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”

• “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”

• “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

• “It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

• “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”